So Cold, a tribute to Hades and Persephone
by The Grey Panther
Summary: The tale of Hades and Persephone, retold. Oneshot. Songfic. Song used: "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin.


My first post on FanFiction! XD

This was originally posted on my deviantART, the link to which is on my profile.

It's a retelling of the story of Hades and Persephone from Greek mythology, in the form of a songfic.

The song is "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin. I was originally going to use "In the Shadows" by The Rasmus, but my muse wouldn't cooperate.

Hope you all enjoy!

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**EDIT: catspats31 has alerted me that I have violated part of the Content Guidelines:**

**_3. Copying from a previously published work (including musical lyrics) not in the public domain._**

**I have removed all the lyrics. The unedited version is on my deviantART.**

**Here's the link (just remove the spaces):**

** the- grey-panther. deviantart art/So-Cold-a- tribute-to-Hades-and-Persephone-342893909**

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**~ So Cold, a tribute to Hades and Persephone ~**

Fate. It binds us all, mortal and immortal alike. Mortals, they so often misunderstand, thinking that their fates are set in stone, or worse, that they can control it somehow.

Why can't they just learn already and make my job easier?

The answer is simple: their mortality. Their bodies in the material world only last a maximum of one century. They're so weak that they can die just as easily as fall asleep.

And that's where I come in. Death's not as bad as it sounds; without it there would be no Life.

And besides: it gives me a job.

My name is Hades, and I am the god of the Underworld. Long ago, my brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, along with myself, overthrew a terrible Titan and sealed him away into Tartarus, the Hell within the deepest region of the Underworld. He was Kronos, the Titan who sired us and our three sisters, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. After his defeat, we drew straws on who would rule what.

The Heavens went to Zeus, and he became the King of the Gods.

The Ocean went to Poseidon, and he became the Ruler of the Sea.

I received the Underworld, and became the Lord of the Dead.

Contrary to popular belief, I was very satisfied with my domain. In fact, I was overjoyed! The sheer size of it rivaled the vast Grand Canyon on Earth. After the creation of mortals, I received plenty of company. The spirits were proud to serve under me. For a long time, I was perfectly content with my life.

My happiness, however, did not last long. After 1300 years, I felt something I had never experienced in my life: loneliness. Despite having thousands of loyal servants, I suddenly felt my solitude crushing me.

My brothers were both married and had had many children (most of them not conceived by their consorts) by the time Prometheus gave mortals fire. Zeus had Hera, goddess of marriage, childbirth, and the angry if-you-cheat-on-me-I'll-castrate-you housewife. Poseidon had Amphitrite, a Nereid. I was all alone.

Every day for many years, my solitude chipped away at my immortal heart. I grew cold, bitter, and distant. The mortals stopped praying to me, and torn down the temples built in my honor. Even my brothers all but forgot about me.

The only thing that kept me from going mad was my dearest sister, Hestia, goddess of the hearth. She often visited me in secret, and could still see straight through my cold façade. And, thanks to Charon's friendship with her, she still does to this day.

And then, one fine sunny morning, **IT** happened.

**She** happened.

Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, ventured near the cave leading to the Underworld. The young goddess of the springtime was drawn to the beautiful wildflowers that only grew in places where two worlds were linked.

What happened next still confuses me to this very day.

A portal opened in the ground beneath her feet, and she was dragged, screaming in terror, straight to my throne room. As soon as she saw me, she ran and clung to my armor, tears streaming down her face.

I remember asking her what she was doing here.

Sobbing, she explained to me all that had happened. And then, her beautiful amber eyes met mine.

For the first time in years, the layer of ice encasing my heart completely dissolved. I felt love again. My niece asked if she could stay here for a little while, to recover from her fall. I agreed, and had a room prepared for her.

In the period that followed, we both lost track of time. We explored the Underworld, went swimming the River Styx, pulled pranks on the spirits, et cetera. We even played checkers. I never wanted it to end.

But end it did. One night, I had just condemned another former rapist to an eternity in Tartarus when I heard a scream. I quickly excused myself and rushed to see what was wrong.

Persephone had had a nightmare. Apparently, her mother, Demeter, was sick with worry. She was slacking off from her duties as goddess of the harvest and letting the mortals freeze to death. It was then I realized that, in my bliss, I was slacking off as well. I hadn't even noticed that the late spirits looked either starved or frostbitten.

We raced for Olympus as soon as we heard, but the rumors got there first.

My family on Olympus, they accused me a terrible things. They said that I was a mistake, a demon, a monster. That I deserved to rot in Tartarus. That I didn't even belong.

What happened afterwards was a blur. Somehow it was decided that Persephone would spend six months with me, and six months with her mother. Then pomegranates were added to picture for some obscure reason.

Later, when Persephone came of age, she married me, and became Queen of the Underworld. In front of others we put on a façade of steel, showing no emotion. We had given up trying to explain the truth long ago.

Inevitably, more rumors spread, but this time they fell on deaf ears. We barely listen to them anymore.

Besides, we have each other. And that's all that matters.

**~ The End ~**

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Well, I hope you all enjoyed! I know a lot of it contradicts the "official" mythos, but hey, it IS fanfiction. :D


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